Mahindra Mojo Review – Highway Master

Mahindra Mojo Review

Motorcycle touring in India is reaching a high where Indian manufacturers are making motorcycles focused on the same, when once, the same manufacturers made bikes just for city commutes. Mahindra’s Mojo was built to spend most of its time on the highway and that’s exactly where we took it to find out how well it does its business. After a month of requesting Mahindra for the Mojo, we finally picked it up from Alfa Motors in Bangalore. I was secretly hoping to get the Glacier white Mojo but ended up getting the Charcoal black colored motorcycle. It was then time to head straight to the highway and put this machine to some use.

Design and Features

Mojo has got a very unique design which is not favored by many but the others just love it. Twin headlight setup with LED daytime running lights gives it a very unique design unlike other bikes in the market. Indicators protrude out of the headlight cover which look shabby coming in your way of calling it great looker. Come to the side and the golden upside down forks look great but Mahindra could’ve ended it there by not including the Centuro looking dual golden pipe ribs. Radiator side cover looks futuristic, tank is well sculpted to hold fuel upto 21 litres and the Mojo has got a huge look overall. Best place to look at the Mojo is from the back where you can see how beautifully integrated the twin exhausts are and the slim tail looks absolutely brilliant.

Digital Instrument cluster on the Mojo looks ordinary with a blue blacklight. Red light following rpm meter looks great in the night and I wouldn’t fancy it much otherwise. Switch gear quality on the Mojo is top notch which gives you a great feel while using them. Plastic quality on this motorcycle is better than that on the KTM Duke and the exhaust sounds fantastic.

Engine and performance

Engine is where the Mojo shines. The engine on the Mojo is the best part about the bike, provided that superb sounding exhaust making you smile every time you twist the throttle. Mojo’s engine is a 295cc, liquid cooled, single cylinder, 4 valve DOHC, mated to a 6-speed gearbox making 27 PS of power and 30 Nm of torque. Compare this engine to the KTM Duke and you will notice how well refined Mojo’s engine is. Despite the bike weighing 182kgs (kerb weight), the engine delivers enough power to effortlessly overtake that annoying bus ahead of you. Gearing on the Mojo is not as short as the KTM Duke’s nor is it really tall. Blipping the throttle while riding the Mojo makes you sound cooler than ever.

We could achieve a top speed of 140 km/hr which the Mojo did without too much drama. The bike feels well planted on the highway and is most happy when you keep the engine revving between 5000-6000 rpm.Twist the throttle above this and the Mojo pulls like a bull. Overtaking on the highway with the Mojo is easier than ever. Twin cylinder type sounding exhaust might come in your way of a “Peaceful Ride”, but you will enjoy it more often than you think. Mojo offered a good overall fuel economy of 28 kmpl.

Ride and handling

Mojo rides like a charm on the highway. Mile munching on this motorcycle is really effortless and the way it reaches high speeds is just amazing. Cruise between 110-120 km/hr on the Mojo and i guarantee you will have only positives to say about the bike. Go a little past 125 km/hr and the bike feels viby and it will stay there till the time you hit the 142 km/hr top speed. I personally love the way the Mojo rides on the highway. Mahindra can improve this by adding a windshield for better wind protection.

Highly impressed with how well the Mojo glides over straight tarmac, it was time to take it through country roads with twists and turns. When this happened, the impression that the Mojo had built on the highway was half lost when it was thrown around corners. Mojo feels heavy and long when it is ridden around corners. The bike easily runs off the road even when you are on the lowest gear leaving the corner. You cannot go hard into a corner and come out of it as easily as you can on the KTM Duke. Mojo wants you to enjoy the corner going slow and will punish you otherwise. Engine braking is not quite enough to control this bike using just gears and that’s when you need to thank the 320mm front and the 240mm rear disc brakes.

Riding the Mojo around in the city is not tough despite its big size and twin exhausts. You cannot zip around in traffic like on the KTM but it definitely isn’t hard to ride in traffic. Upside down forks and mono-shock suspension do a great job easily gliding over rough patch of tarmac, bumps and pot holes. Pirelli Rosso II tyres offer great grip and off road capability of a bike this big is quite impressive.

Rider and pillion comfort

Suspensions do a great job on the Mojo and the rider feels comfortable at all times and on all terrain. High set handlebar makes you feel like a god riding this motorcycle on the highway. Seats are well cushioned, comfortable and doesn’t leave you with a sore bottom unlike on the Dukes. Locking the knee is made easy with a neatly sculpted fuel tank.

Pillion comfort is not at its best because of the slim tail and anything above a 20 minute ride will leave you tired and wanting for a break.

Verdict

I had been craving to ride the Mojo to see how well it plays on the highway and stay true to being a tourer. I must say i am really impressed with how well it rides on straight roads. If you were to pick up a bike and go a far distance not caring about enjoying the bike around corners or hitting that top speed regularly, then the Mojo is a perfect motorcycle for you. To be honest, i did not feel like taking breaks or stopping the Mojo even for a minute while riding it on the highway and again, it all depends on how you use your resources for the betterment of you.

If you are looking to get the Mojo for how awesome it sounds for a single cylinder and push it around in the city to grab attention, please look elsewhere because when you do that, you will be missing out on the amount of fun you can have with this machine on the highway. Improved cornering ability and a better windscreen will be a package hard to ignore when it comes at a price of 1.74 lakh (ex-showroom Bangalore).

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